Ryan Tate

After making noise during its federally mandated quiet period and after taking heat for a farcical accounting metric, Groupon might still be able to IPO next month. The online discounter's CEO just has to prove to the feds that he's not a liar.

Because it loses tons of money, Groupon is promoting its IPO using an inflated income number that…
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Last month, Groupon's CEO disseminated a combative internal memo that apparently flouted SEC rules on the startup's "quiet perod" (Groupon's PR chief resigned). To resolve this, the New York Times now reports, the company could submit as an SEC filing " at least parts of [CEO Andrew] Mason's memo and additional details that support its assertions." In other words, Mason will have to prove his claims, like the part where he said August revenues were on track to rise 12 percent, reversing a deceleration of sales in the prior quarter, which some pundits and analysts thought might imperil the company.

Groupon thinks it can alleviate the SEC issue and go public in late October or early November, said the Times. The rush might seem odd, given that stocks have fallen 11 percent from where they were in early July. But know that Groupon is desperate for cash or anything! It just really wants to go public. OK?